The Arkansas Ethics Commission voted 4-0 to dismiss a complaint against Bentonville School Board member Rebecca Powers related to her re-election campaign this year, according to a decision released by the commission Friday.
The complaint focused on a Powers campaign advertisement on Facebook that did not contain the statutorily required disclaimer declaring it was a paid political ad, according to a letter to Powers from commission Director Graham Sloan.
A commission investigation showed an ad was placed on Facebook and that it did not include the required language. However, the ad had been placed and paid for by Rodney Fry, one of Powers' supporters.
"While the evidence indicated that you [Powers] had authorized Mr. Fry to run your campaign page on Facebook, you did not order, instruct, ask for, review, approve, pay for, or reimburse the expenses for the cost of the advertisement in question," the letter states.
The complaint was filed in September by Gretchen Bellamy of Bentonville, who supported Powers' opponent, Eowyn Francis-Moore, in the Sept. 15 election. Bellamy could not be reached for comment Friday.
Powers, a Centerton resident who represents Zone 1 on the board, won re-election with about 83 percent of the vote. She had not heard about the commission's decision yet when reached for comment late Friday. She said the complaint made her feel sad for Fry.
"He's just a volunteer trying to help out someone he believes in," she said.
Powers said she had been told by the commission there is frequent confusion over how campaign rules apply to social media.
Metro on 11/21/2015